Hibbert Five-Peat's at ESPN Winter X Games

January 31, 2011 2:05pm

Monster Energy/Arctic Cat’s Tucker Hibbert entered his 12th ESPN Winter X Games focused and determined to capture his fifth straight snocross gold and tenth overall medal. Winter X Games 15 was dubbed “Year of the Peat,” with mutiple athletes competing for a repeat gold. On Sunday afternoon, in front of a record crowd in Aspen, Colo. and thousands of viewers worldwide watching live on ESPN, he become the second athlete in WX history to five-peat. With this, he surpassed legend Blair Morgan’s record of five snocross gold medals and tied for third on the all-time WX medal list with two other athletes.

Sunday morning, Hibbert drew the final gate pick for his qualifier, forcing him to take the far outside starting position in the 12-rider heat race. When the green flag flew, he grabbed a handful of throttle, railed a left-handed bowl turn and took the lead before the second corner. By the end of the eight-lap race, he opened a 15-second lead on second place, no. 837 Ross Martin, making him the number one qualifier for the 15-rider final.

With the number one gate pick, he lined up on the far inside confident he could take another holeshot but Martin jumped the start, taking the false holeshot. Hibbert came out of the first corner in second behind Martin and put on a charge for the front. Halfway through lap one, Hibbert got hit from the back by another rider sending him sideways off the next jump. He over corrected and hit the next jump sideways again. After a wild ride, he regained control and made the pass for the lead on the close of lap one. He opened a comfortable lead and rode the final 14 laps unchallenged to cruise to his sixth career WX victory.
Next up for Hibbert is round four of the national snocross series in Farmington, New York Jan. 4-5. He is the current points leader in both the Pro Super Stock and Pro Open classes.

Tucker Hibbert – ESPN Winter X Games, Ten Medals in 12 Appearances
2011: Gold • 2010: Gold • 2009: Gold • 2008: Gold • 2007: Gold • 2006: DNQ
2005: Silver • 2004: Silver • 2003: Bronze • 2002: Silver • 2001: Mechanical Failure
2000: Gold, youngest gold medalist in Winter X Games history(15)

Tucker Hibbert - #68 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat
“This win feels amazing. Every win is special but this one means a lot to me. Every year, we(the team) come into Winter X Games more prepared and we proved that today(Sunday). Beating Blair’s record for most snocross gold medals is really exciting but I have to thank him for setting the bar high. He helped make me the competitor I am today and I really wish we were still battling on the track. I hope someone can step up because I know the fans would like to see me dicing with another rider again.”

Noteworthy:
Monster Energy/Arctic Cat mechanic turned racer, No. 177 Jeff Tweet, who was paralyzed racing snocross in 2001, competed in the adaptive event for the second consecutive year. Tweet had a mid-pack start in the eight-rider, four-lap final but quickly found himself in second place. On the last lap, he got passed in an up-hill rhythm section, putting him in third. In the final stretch before the finish line, he made a last chance effort and doubled through the most technical section of the track to take the silver medal.

Jeff Tweet - #177 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat
“It’s always been a dream of mine to compete at Winter X. Games. Last year, I didn’t know what to expect. I felt like I had a good run but ended up breaking my leg on the last lap. With a year to refocus and train, I entered Winter X 15 more prepared and confident I could take a medal. It was so much fun to battle on the last lap and take home the silver medal.”